Mounting arrangement



March 1962 w. v. MILLMAN 3,025,122

MOUNTING ARRANGEMENT Filed Nov. 25, 1960 2 SheetsSheet l INVENTUR. WILLIAM V. MILLMAN ATTORNEY March 13, 1962 w. v. MILLMAN 3,025,122

MOUNTING ARRANGEMENT Filed Nov. 25, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 o 24', An all" I IH a M" Q 2 2 j J J/G. 4 4 1 INVENTOR. WILLIAM V. MILLMAN BY M6 4 7,

ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofifice 3,025,122 Patented Mar. 13, 1962 3,025,122 MOUNTING ARRANGEMENT William V. Millman, Moline, Ill., assignor to American Air Filter Company, Inc., Louisville, Ky., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 25, 1960, Ser. No. 71,726 Claims. (Cl. 312245) This invention relates to a mounting arrangement for unit ventilators and flanking cabinets, or like modular components.

Unit ventilators, matching storage and utility cabinets, and accessories thereto, commonly used in schoolrooms are often disposed in end-to-end relation to extend in unbroken fashion along one or more walls of the room. These modular components normally have their weight primarily supported from the floor but are also secured in one way or another to the vertical wall of the room. The varying arrangements desired, and the different sizes of cabinets and unit ventilators, in both length and depth, have posed problems for the manufacturer who desires to maintain some degree of standardization in his line of products and mounting arrangements therefor while avoiding a complicated installation job for the installer.

For example, with a standard depth unit ventilator mounted tightly against the wall, the standard depth utility cabinets flanking the unit ventilator have their rear walls spaced about 2 inches from the building wall to provide alignment of the fronts of the components. When a so-called adapter-back unit ventilator having a somewhat greater depth is mounted against the wall, the standard depth cabinets have their rear walls spaced about 5% inches from the wall to provide alignment of the front walls of the unit ventilator and cabinets. One known way to provide these different spacings is to use standoff elements of corresponding dimensions secured to the rear walls of the cabinets by the manufacturer. As a result of the two different sizes of standotfs, if the manufacturer desires to stock finished cabinets of both depths, some cabinets must be stocked with standoffs of one dimension and others must be stocked with standotfs of the other dimension. With cabinets having standoffs of either depth, the shipping cartons used must be sufficiently large to not only accommodate the cabinet proper, but also the cubage added by the projecting standoffs. Further, the carton inventory must include cartons of both sizes. Additional problems stemming from the different arrangements will be readily apparent to those engaged in the manufacture and sale of such equipment.

In addition to the problems the manufacturer has, the installer faces certain problems in installing cabinets hav ing standoifs. Securing the cabinets to the wall usually requires that rather long bolts, screws or other fasteners extend through the rear wall of the cabinet for the length of the standoifs and then into the building wall. Knockouts provided in the rear wall of the cabinet must be removed and large washers then be used to cover the knockout holes. The knock-out holes are rather large and if the axis of the fastener doesnt coincide rather closely with the center of the knock-out hole, the washer may not completely cover the hole. Since the material of which the building walls may be constructed varies, for example, from sandwich panel walls to masonry walls, varying types of fasteners may be required, and sometimes wooden grounds must be provided in the building wall during construction to serve as a base into which wood screws may be secured. Additional problems are well known to both manufacturers and installers of this type equipment.

One object of this invention is the provision of an improved mounting arrangement for such equipment and which substantially avoids the foregoing and other problems.

In accordance with .the principles of the invention, standoifs for the utility cabinets are eliminated and, instead, rearwardly open bracket receiving tunnels or spaces are provided in the cabinets so that bracket means fastened to and projecting from a horizontal rail fixed to the building wall may be received Within the tunnels and serve to connect the cabinets to the wall.

In one specific embodiment, the horizontal rail is a flanged channel member with the channel web or bight having closely spaced openings throughout its length. The bracket means includes one L-shaped or angle member for each cabinet tunnel, the L-shaped member in its installed position having a base portion which extends through one of the rail openings to interengage with the web, and a leg portion which projects horizontally at a right angle from the axis of the rail for insertion into the cabinet tunnel. The base portion of the L-shaped member includes a double tabbed or head-shaped extremity which hooks behind the channel web when the base portion has been manipulated into its installed position. The L-shaped member is held in its hooked position by fastening the leg portion to a flat bracket member also having a double tabbed or head-shaped extremity interengaging with the rail. The flat member extends outwardly away from the rail parallel to the leg portion and is secured in face-to-face contact therewith. After the bracket means is secured to the rail, the cabinet may be moved into position with the tunnels receiving the projecting legs of the L-shaped members.

The selected spacing between the rear wall of the cabinets and the building wall is obtained by positioning the cabinet relative to the building wall a distance which gives the selected spacing and then securing the leg portion of the L-shaped bracket to the cabinet. The flat bracket member is preferably of a length which facilitates positioning of the cabinet by shoving the cabinet rearwardly until its rear vertical corner edge contacts the vertical edge of the flat bracket.

The invention will be explained in some detail in connection with the accompanying drawing illustrating one embodiment incorporating the principles of the invention by way of example, and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of a fragment of the horizontal rail and the bracket means, the bracket means being shown in exploded relation;

FIGURE 2 is an isometric view of a part of the bracket means of FIGURE 1 secured to the rail and showing a fragmentry, partly broken, portion of a utility cabinet in a position approaching its installed position;

FIGURE 3 is an end view of a cabinet as installed in standard spaced relation by means of the invention to a building wall shown in section;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary end view of the upper portion of a cabinet installed with a greater space between the cabinet and the building wall.

FIGURE 5 is an isometric view of the interior side of the upper portion of an end panel adapted for use with the mounting arrangement of the invention; and,

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary end view, enlarged relative to FIGURE 3, of a plate or grille for covering the top of the space behind the cabinets.

Referring to the drawing, a length of horizontal rail 2 to which bracket means 4 are to be fastened is illus trated in FIGURE 1. The rail is in the form of a flanged channel section having vertically disposed upper and lower flanges 6 and 8 provided with a number of holes 10 through which suitable fasteners extend to secure the rail to the building wall. The particular type of fasteners used will depend upon the material of which the building wall is constructed. The flange holes 10 are placed relatively close to each other so that the fasteners may be inserted into the wall at selected locations providing a secure base. For example, if the building is of sandwich panel construction, the major fasteners may be inserted through holes which correspond with the panel wall mullions.

The channel or C-shaped part of the rail 2 includes a web portion 12 having closely spaced rectangular openings 14 throughout its length. The upper and lower margins of the web 12 defining the upper and lower edges of the individual openings 14 are designated 16 and 18 respectively. Selected ones of the openings are adapted to receive parts of the bracket means 4 to provide the interengagement which will later be described in detail.

One L-shaped or angle bracket 29 is provided for each end of a cabinet. At those places where two cabinets are placed in end-to-end relation, two angle brackets are arranged in mirror relation to each other with a flat securing bracket 22 interposed between, as shown in exploded fashion in FIGURE 1. Since the angle brackets are of the same form whether turned one way or the ther, only one of these will be described in detail.

The angle bracket includes a leg portion 24, a base portion 26, and upper and lower horizontal flanges 28 and 30 projecting rearwardly from the upper and lower edges respectively of the base portion. The transverse dimension or height of the base portion 26 is slightly greater than the height of the rail web 12 so that the upper and lower flanges of the base portion are spaced sufficiently to permit the upper flange 28 to overlie and the lower flange 30 to underlie the channel part of the rail when the angle bracket is secured as shown in FIGURE 2.

Near the end of the base portion, a pair of slots extend inwardly from the opposite longitudinal edges, to form a neck 32 with the extremity or head 34 of the base portion being in the form of oppositely projecting lugs or tabs. The vertical dimension of the head 34 (as disposed in FIGURE 1) is less than the inside height of the channel so that clearance is available within the channel when the head 34 is inserted therewithin and manipulated into its installed position.

The angle bracket 20 is mounted on the rail in the following manner. The bracket is manipulated so the leg 24 extends either upwardly or downwardly with the base 26 directed toward the rail. The head 34 of the base is inserted into a selected rail opening 14 so that the neck 32 is aligned between the top and bottom edges of the opening, and the bracket is then rotated about the base longitudinal axis so that margins 16 and 18 of the opening 14 are received within the slots defining the neck. The bracket is moved within the selected opening 14 to the desired position and is then rotated about a vertical line passing through the neck so that the upper and lower flanges 28 and 30 of the base encompas the channel. It will be appreciated that when the bracket is rotated to its final position as illustrated in FIGURE 2, the oppositely projecting tabs or lugs of the head 34 will engage the inner surfaces of the margins 16 and 18 defining the rail opening and be bent inwardly, while the shoulders of the base portion will engage the outer surfaces of the margins.

The angle bracket 20 is retained in the position relative to the rail shown in FIGURE 2 by securing it to the flat bracket 22. The fiat bracket has an extremity similar to the angle bracket base 26 including a neck 36 and oppositely projecting tabs or lugs forming a head portion 38. It is manipulated into. interengagement with the rail in the same general fashion as the base portion extremity, and it is then moved into surface contacting relation with that portion of the leg 24 adjacent the rail. They are secured to each other by means of a fastener such as a bolt 40 and, nut 42, the bolt passing through the aligned holes 44 and 46 of the two brackets,

FIGURE 2 shows one angle bracket 28 and one flat bracket 22 in assembled relation. This arrangement would be used at the end of a line or run of cabinets. At a joint between two cabinets abutted in end-to-end relation, the additional angle bracket designated 48 in FIGURE 1 is used, the bracket assembly being secured together by a single bolt and with the legs of the angle brackets 20 and 48 projecting away from the rail and spaced from each other by the thickness of a single flat bracket 22,

Each utility cabinet 50 (FIGURE 2) or other component adapted to be mounted along the wall is provided with means defining a bracket receiving tunnel or sheathshaped space adjacent each upper corner and into which the outer end of the leg 24 is inserted when the cabinet is moved toward the wall toward its installed position. The tunnel forming means for the cabinet 50 includes an offset piece having center portion 52 serving as one side wall of the tunnel, an upper flange 54 spot Welded or otherwise secured to the bottom surface of the cabinet top wall 56, and a lower flange 58 likewise suitably secured to the inner surface of the cabinet end wall 60. The cabinet rear wall is provided with a vertical slot so that the tunnel is rearwardly open. Both the center portion 52 of the offset piece and the upper part of the cabinet end wall 60 have a series of horizontally spaced holes, 62 and 64 respectively, aligned with each other, and adapted to be aligned with the correspondingly spaced holes 66 of the angle bracket leg 24 when the leg is received within the tunnel.

When the cabinet 50 is to be moved into its installed position, it is positioned so that the tunnels are aligned with the projecting legs of the angle brackets. The cab-- inet is then shoved toward the building wall, with one leg being guided into each tunnel, until the vertical rear corner edge of the cabinet abuts the vertical edge 68 of the flat bracket 22. In this position, the series of holes 62, 64 and 66 in the center portion 52, end wall 60- and leg 24 respectively, are aligned. Preferably, these holes are all somewhat oversize with respect to the securing bolt to be used so as to accommodate manufacturing tolerances.

If it is assumed that the illustrated cabinet in FIGURE 2 is at the end of a run of cabinets, the bolts which extend outwardly to secure the cabinet to the bracket leg may also be used to secure the upper portion of an end panel 70 (FIGURE 5) by extending into a depending flange 72 having holes 74 with hidden nuts or other bolt receiving and securing means. In such a case the rail 2 will have been cut in a vertical plane adjacent the fiat bracket 22, and a recess 76 is provided in the rear flange 78 of the end panel to accommodate whatever portion of the rail projects past the cabinet end wall 60.

If an additional cabinet is placed in end-to-end relation to the cabinet 50 of FIGURE 2, the additional angle bracket 48 of FIGURE 1 will have been mounted on the rail 2, and the additional cabinet receives the respective projecting leg and is secured thereto by bolts passing through the end walls and offset pieces of both cabinets.

It is contemplated that the invention will preferably be used in connection with cabinets having means for supporting most of the cabinet weight from the building floor. FIGURE 3 illustrates a cabinet 50 mounted at a standard spacing from the wall and having a leveling screw 79 adjustable downwardly relative to a runner 80 underlying the cabinet at both ends. One preferable arrangement of such a leveling screw and a cooperating kick plate is disclosed in Allender U.S. Patent No. 2,887,351, issued May 19, 1959. With such an arrangement the bracket and rail assembly is relieved, to a great extent, from providing support in a vertical direction, and the rail and bracket parts may consequently be made of considerably lighter material than if the rail and bracket means were required to fully support the weight of a cabinet and contents.

FIGURE 4 illustrates the arrangement used when an adapter-back spacing between cabinet and wall is required. In this case, the same angle brackets 20 as for a standard spacing are used, but a flat bracket 82 of greater length than the flat bracket 22 of FIGURE 3 is used. Thus, when the cabinet is pushed toward the wall to assume its mounted position, the abutment of the vertical rear corner edge of the cabinet against the vertical edge 84 of flat bracket 82 will readily give the increased spacmg.

To provide alignment of the bolt receiving holes of the cabinet and leg when either standard or adapter-back spacing is required, the individual holes in the center portion 52 of the offset piece, in the leg 24, and the cabinet end wall 60 are spaced apart a distance corresponding to the difference in standard distances at which the cabinet rear walls are to be spaced from the building wall. For example, if the standard spacing between building wall and cabinet rear wall is 2 /2 inches, and the adapter-back spacing between building wall and cabinet rear wall is 5% inches, the holes in each element are on 3% inch centers. Thus the angle bracket 20 to be used for adapterback and standard installations may be the same, the two rearward holes in the cabinet end wall and offset piece being in alignment with the two forward holes of the leg '24 in the adapter-back installation shown in FIGURE 4. It will be appreciated that in the field spacings other than the standard and adapter-back spacings may be obtained by simply drilling new holes through center piece 52, leg 24, and end wall 60 after the cabinet has been set.

The top of the space behind the cabinets, and any space behind the unit ventilator or accessory components, is covered by a backplate or grille 86. As illustrated in FIG- URE 3 and the enlarged view of FIGURE 6, the grille has a retroverted flange 88 for its forward edge with a depending hook-shaped flange 90 extending downwardly into the space behind the cabinet and engaging a series of horizontally-spaced tabs 92 projecting downwardly and away from the rear wall of the cabinet. The rear portion of the grille 86 includes an elongate underlying channel 94 carrying an extruded form gasket 96 adapted to seal against the building wall. With the illustrated grille arrangement, the hook-shaped flange 90 is hooked under the tabs 92 and the rear portion of the grille tilted upwardly before the cabinet is shoved toward the building wall. The rear part of the grille is released after the cabinet is in position and springs downwardly to rest upon the rail channel. While this grille arrangement is preferable from the standpoint that installation is rapid and can be made without the use of bolts or screws, the hook-shaped flange 90 and cooperating tabs 92 can be eliminated and the grille be secured to the cabinet by fastening the front edge of the grille to the cabinet with screws or the like if desired.

The principles of the invention are also applicable to accessory components and to the unit ventilator itself which is usually mounted with its rear wall closely adjacent the building wall and with framing gasket means carried by the unit rear wall being compressed to provide an air seal surrounding the air inlet opening in the building wall. The rear of the unit ventilator is provided with a horizontal recess to accommodate the protrusion of the rail from the wall for such installations. Bracket means of the same character as heretofore described are preferably used to secure the unit ventilator in its mounted position in generally the same fashion as described in connection with the cabinets.

While it is not believed necessary to illustrate a unit ventilator and a series of cabinets to acquaint those in the art with the general sequence in which the components are installed, the following general description may be helpful in that respect. The building specifications determine the exact sizes and sequence of unit ventilator and flanking cabinets. The rails are fastened to the building wall at the proper height above the floor. The individual rail lengths are selected to avoid having a rail joint coincide with any joint between components. The pairs of angle brackets are secured with the intervening flat brackets to the rail at measured horizontal intervals to correspond with the bracket receiving tunnels at the joints of the components. Single angle'brackets are installed at the ends of the run. The leveling screws of the components are adjusted to positions approximating final positions, the rear cover plates are hooked to the projecting tabs on the rear of the cabinets, and the components are then individually moved toward the wall with the, angle bracket legs being received within the bracket receiving tunnels and the rear cover plate being tilted upwardly in a somewhat stressed position so that its rear edge will clear and overlie the top of the projecting rail portion when the cabinet or component reaches its intended position. The flat bracket vertical edges abutted by the cabinet rear corner edges when the cabinets reach correct positions space the cabinets at the correct distance from the wall. When all of the components are in position, the means fastening the cabinets to each other and to the bracket means are installed, and the leveling screws are finally adjusted. Opposite end panels are then installed at the ends of the runs of the cabinets.

The invention claimed is:

1. In an arrangement for securing a cabinet to a vertical wall with a selected space therebetween: a cabinet including means defining a rearwardly open bracket receiving tunnel adjacent each of its ends; a rail attached to said wall extending horizontally therealong behind said cabinet at a height corresponding to said bracket receiving tunnel, said rail including a channel cross section projecting away from said wall and having closely spaced openings throughout the length of the web thereof; a right angle bracket for each said bracket receiving tunnel mounted on said rail and including a base portion extending horizontally along said rail with a head-shaped extremity disposed interiorly of said channel in binding engagement with the margins defining one of said openings, and a leg portion projecting away from said rail and extending into said bracket receiving tunnel; a flat bracket having a head-shaped extremity disposed interiorly of said channel in latching relationship with the margins defining one of said openings and having a remaining portion of predetermined length projecting away from said rail in face-to-face contact with said leg portion; means for fastening said right angle bracket and said flat bracket to each other; and means for securing said leg extending into said tunnel to said cabinet with the rear of said cabinet abutting the forward edge of said flat bracket to provide a predetermined spacing of said cabinet from said wall.

2. In a cabinet mounting arrangement for mounting a cabinet along a vertical building wall with a selected space therebetween: a horizontal rail in the form of a channel cross section extending along said wall, the web of said channel being spaced from said wall and having a series of openings therein; bracket means secured to said rail at selected intervals, said bracket means including a angle member having a base portion with an extremity extending into one of said openings and engaging said web and a leg portion projecting away from said web, and a flat member disposed in face-to-face relation along said leg portion and having one extremity extending into one of said openings in latching relationship with said web; fastening means securing said leg portion and said flat bracket together; a cabinet including means adjacent the ends of said cabinet defining rearwardly open spaces to receive said leg portions of said angle members; and means for securing said leg portion to said cabinet with said selected space between said cabinet and said Wall.

3. The arrangement specified in claim 2 including: tab means projecting from the rear wall of said cabinet near the top thereof; means for covering the top of said space between said cabinet and said building wall including a cover member with its front edge overlapping the top rear edge of said cabinet, and having a rearwardly-spaced depending flange with a hook-shaped extremity adapted to latch with said tab means, the rear edge of said cover U member carrying underlying gasket retaining means resting upon said rail.

4. A cabinet mounting arrangement for mounting cabinets parallel to and spaced from a building wall, comprising: a horizontal rail in the form of a flanged channel having a series of openings in the channel web portion, the flanges being attached to said wall and the channel projecting away from said wall; an L-shaped bracket adapted to be supported from said rail with its leg portion projecting away from said web and its base portion extending along said web, said base portion including a head-shaped extremity projecting into one of said web openings in binding engagement with the interior surfaces of the margins defining said rail opening; a flat bracket including a head-shaped extremity extending through one of said openings to interlock with the margins thereof, the remainder of said fiat bracket projecting away from said rail in face-to-face relation with said leg portion; means for securing said flat bracket to said leg portion in said face-to-face relation; a cabinet including means defining a rearwardly open rear-to-front extending horizontal space to receive therewithin at least the outer end portion of said leg portion of said L-shaped bracket; and means to secure said received leg portion to said cabinet.

5. In an arrangement for mounting a cabinet parallel to and spaced from a building Wall: a cabinet including means defining a rearwardly open, forwardly extending, bracket receiving space adjacent each of the ends of said cabinet; a horizontal rail attached to said wall and having a channel section projecting from said wall, the web of said channel section containing a series of rectangular openings therein; an L-shaped bracket for each bracket receiving space, each bracket including a leg portion adapted to extend into said space and a base portion adapted to be connected to said rail, said base portion having a pair of inwardly directed slots spaced from its end to provide a pair of oppositely directed lugs at its extremity separated from the remainder of said base portion by the neck defined by said slots, said neck being narrower than the height of said rectangular openings so that said extremity may be inserted into said openings and the L-shaped bracket manipulated to a position wherein said leg portion projects outwardly and perpendicularly from said rail and said base portion lies generally parallel to said rail with the extremity interiorly thereof and said lugs in binding relation to said web; a fiat bracket including a pair of inwardly directed slots adjacent one end forming a neck with head-shaped extremity adapted to be inserted into one of said rectangular openings for latching relation with the margins thereof, said flat bracket projecting outwardly from said channel in face-to-face contact with said leg portion; means for securing said flat bracket to said leg portion; and means for securing said leg portion extending into said cabinet space to said cabinet to hold said cabinet away from said wall a predetermined distance.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,584,438 Du Boil et a1. Feb. 5, 1952. 

